bioplasticsMAGAZINE_1205

News
Metabolix to cooperate
with Antibióticos
Metabolix, Inc. (Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA),
announced end of July that it has signed a letter of intent
(LOI) with Antibióticos S.A. for production of Mirel
biopolymer resin (PHA) at its manufacturing facility in
Leon, Spain.
Under the terms of the LOI, Metabolix will begin work
immediately with Antibióticos to conduct a series of
validation production runs to demonstrate fermentation
and recovery of Mirel biopolymer resin on full productionscale
equipment at Antibióticos. The companies plan to
enter into a definitive contract manufacturing agreement
for Mirel biopolymers based upon the validation
production runs as well as completion of economic and
engineering feasibility studies. Metabolix will own the
Mirel biopolymer resin produced during the validation
production runs.
“The agreement with Antibióticos represents a
significant step forward in establishing a new supply
chain for Mirel biopolymers to serve our customers
worldwide and to continue product development in
high value-added applications,” said Richard P. Eno,
president and chief executive officer of Metabolix. “In
addition, Antibióticos is located in the European Union
near many of our targeted customers. We are impressed
with the track record, technical expertise and facilities at
Antibioticos, and believe their equipment is well-suited
to the manufacturing process used to produce Mirel
biopolymers at commercial scale.”
“This agreement brings together our experience
and technical capacity with Metabolix’s technology and
processes in a way that supports the values and vision
of both companies,” said Daniele Pucci Di Benisichi,
president of Antibióticos. “The first step of our work
with Metabolix will be to validate their technology in our
facility. Then, we’ll look ahead to creating a contract
manufacturing agreement. Antibióticos follows a very
demanding and selective approach for new projects and
partners, and we’re particularly pleased to be working
with Metabolix to deepen our work in sustainable
technologies and diversify our business portfolio.”
Mirel biopolymers are based on polyhydroxyalkanoates
(PHA), biobased, uniquely biodegradable, and suitable
for a wide range of product applications. Metabolix
has previously demonstrated production of Mirel
biopolymer resin at industrial scale. Metabolix
is currently supplying Mirel biopolymer resin to
customers from existing inventory of approximately
2,300 tonnes (5 million pounds). MT
www.metabolix.com
www.antibioticos-sa.com
Bio-based acrylic acid
Presently, acrylic acid is produced by the oxidation
of propylene derived from the refining of crude oil.
BASF (Ludwigshafen, Germany), Cargill (Minneapolis,
Minnesota, USA) and Novozymes (Copenhagen, Denmark)
signed an agreement in mid-August to develop bio-based
technologies to produce acrylic acid from renewable
feedstocks.
“The cooperation combines BASF’s global market
strength and innovation power with the excellent knowhow
and competencies of Novozymes and Cargill who
are global leaders in their respective industry segments.
Together we are uniquely positioned to more sustainably
meet market and society needs”, said Michael Heinz,
Member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE.
New milestone towards commercialization
Novozymes and Cargill have collaborated on renewable
acrylic acid technology since 2008. Both companies have
worked to develop microorganisms that can efficiently
convert renewable feedstock into 3-hydroxypropionic
acid (3-HP), which is one possible chemical precursor
to acrylic acid. BASF has now joined the collaboration to
develop the process for conversion of 3-HP into acrylic
acid. BASF is the world´s largest producer of acrylic
acid and has substantial capabilities in its production
and downstream processing. The company plans
initially to use the bio-based acrylic acid to manufacture
superabsorbent polymers.
The three companies bring complementary knowledge
to the project. Novozymes, the world-leader in industrial
enzymes, has years of experience with developing
technologies for bio-based production of chemicals used
in plastics, ingredients, etc.. Cargill brings its global
expertise in sourcing renewable feedstocks and largescale
fermentation to this collaborative project.
Acrylic acid is a high-volume chemical that feeds into
a broad range of products. One of the main applications
is in the manufacture of superabsorbent polymers that
can soak up large amounts of liquid and are used mainly
in baby diapers and other hygiene products. Acrylic acid
is also used in adhesive raw materials and coatings. The
annual global market volume of acrylic acid is around
4.5 million tons with a value of $11 billion 1 at the end of
2011. The market has been growing at a rate of 4 percent
per year. MT
www.basf.com.
www.cargill.com
www.novozymes.com.
1
Based on ICIS pricing
bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7 5